


Genocider Syo's Excellent Adventure

by YoungMrKusuma



Series: The Naekawa Project [6]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, First story in my OT3 tag yeehaw, Fluff, I'M GONNA MAKE THIS SHIP SAIL IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO, Multi, rarepair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-12-03 09:36:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11529537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoungMrKusuma/pseuds/YoungMrKusuma
Summary: For everyone who wanted a story for Syo. Takes place a year or so after'Why the Streams Are Bitter'





	Genocider Syo's Excellent Adventure

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Burning Down Love](https://archiveofourown.org/works/483421) by [thereisafire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thereisafire/pseuds/thereisafire). 
  * Inspired by [why stand on formalities when we're already so close](https://archiveofourown.org/works/732346) by [suitablyskippy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/suitablyskippy/pseuds/suitablyskippy). 



> Right! Some quick admin before we begin; Earlier this year, I mentioned in this [post](https://youngmrkusuma.tumblr.com/post/155648948318/can-you-give-us-a-hint-on-what-your-working-on) that I was working on a fic that would involve more of the DR cast members. Unfortunately, this isn't it (although there are a couple of guest appearances here). I decided to push that one back because I wasn't getting anywhere with it, and because I had a new idea that I was itching to get on paper.
> 
> And so here we are.
> 
> Now, it should be noted that even though this story does involve Syo, it's fairly light-hearted and silly. Hope that's alright. I was getting a bit weary of writing angst and needed a break.

"Compromise" was not an unfamiliar term for Fukawa; living with shitty parents and going to school with shitty classmates had taught her early on that you can't always have what you want in life. At least, not without giving something up first. She had learnt that sometimes, for the sake of keeping things civil, it was better to just calm down and let things go. To let others have their way. Sometimes, as her boyfriend was wont to do, it was better to just smile and take your problems in stride.

This, was not one of those times.

Even after her other half had agreed to stop killing people, dealing with Syo was still a complete and utter nightmare. Yet Fukawa did her best to be patient. She tried to forgive occasionally opening her closet to find stacks of those vile, X-rated BL doujins that Syo liked to read so much spilling out from a corner. She didn't mind having her laptop's hard disk space be taken up by gigabyte after gigabyte of shameless yaoi porn, as long as they were stored somewhere she couldn't see. She ignored the fact that her internet browser history and favourites bar was full of links to dubious and crassly named websites.

But Fukawa had to draw a line somewhere. And she decided yesterday that she knew right where to put it.

Naegi, who was lending her a sympathetic ear, asked "What did she do this time?"

Fukawa's cheeks went scarlet. "It's... um... better if I showed you."

She went over to her desk and turned on her laptop. As soon as the Desktop wallpaper loaded, Naegi understood. A strangled 'Oh!' escaped him and he started blushing as well.

Several youthful individuals. All males. Expressions of pure ecstasy. Naked, alabaster skin. And _seed_. Everywhere. Lots of it.

A swatch of memory came to him unbidden; the voice of a screeching young man in a youtube video imploring his audience to please " _Don't watch an anime called Boku"._ Fukawa slammed the screen shut once Naegi comprehended what he was seeing. His face would stay red throughout their conversation.

"...Well," he managed, after a moment. "That's extreme."

 "It-It's horrible!" She pulled at her hair. "I-Imagine w-waking up one morning to find _that_ waiting for you!"

As soon as she had seen what Syo had done, Fukawa had grabbed her smartphone and navigated straight to the voice recorder app – the primary mode of communication between the two personalities – and left a heated message on it, about the importance of boundaries and not overstepping them. Then she stuck a post-it note that read 'For Syo' to the phone and made herself sneeze.

When Fukawa regained consciousness some fifteen minutes later, she found an equally heated message waiting for her.

"You never let me have any fun!" Syo shrieked. "Do you have any idea how hard it is, denying my true nature?? I'm already laying off the real pretty boys for your sake; can't you just let me have some fictional ones? Besides, I don't see what the big deal is. You're a romance author, right? That picture is the purest expression of love there is! Gyahahahaha!!!"

"Purest e-expression of _love_ ," Fukawa seethed, her fingers curling into claws. "What does th-that uncultured swine know about love??"

After some back and forth that lasted for three hours, with some recordings consisting solely of the words "Fuck you", the two of them eventually came to an understanding. Syo was willing to be a bit more cooperative, even willing to remove the smut from Fukawa's computer, if four conditions were met.

"Conditions?" Naegi asked. He had a bad feeling about this.

"Y-yeah," Fukawa pulled out a slip of paper from her pocket. "She made a list."

The first condition, in Syo's own words: "I want my own laptop. No cheap shit! It's gotta be fast and it's gotta be spacey! Them yaoi vids take up a lot of room. Actually, while I'm at it, make it a Macbook Pro! Hahaha, get it??" (Fukawa shuddered at the stupidity of her joke)

The second condition: She wanted a private place to stash her doujins. More specifically, she wanted her own cabinet, with a lock and key. ("Your closet's running out of room, Miss Gloomy!") Since Fukawa had moved out of her parents' home and into her own apartment, this was easily accomplished.

The third condition: She wanted an allowance. A 'Fujoshi Fund', as she put it, so she could buy all the merch she wanted without having to steal from Fukawa's wallet. 80 000 yen a month (haggled down from 100 000).

"Did... Did she just casually admit to stealing from you?"

Fukawa bristled with annoyance. "L-let's just leave that aside for now."

"Ohhkkaayy... What about the fourth condition?"

She bit her lip. "That's w-what I called you here for, a-actually."

The fourth condition: Syo wanted to go to _Comiket_. Not just this year, but _every_ year. For the whole three days. "And I mean both _NatsuComi_ and _FuyuComi_! I want to be with my people!"

"S-She wants to be with her _people_." Fukawa rolled her eyes. Then turned to her boyfriend. " _NatsuComi_ starts t-this Saturday. I need you to go with her and make sure she doesn't get into t-trouble."

Naegi rubbed his chin, musing. He supposed he should have expected this. "Saturday, huh. Didn't we have a date planned?"

"We'll have to c-cancel," she said, looking guilty. "Sorry a-about this... making you go along with that awful, awful woman. You're the only o-one I can trust with this..."

"That's okay," he smiled at her. Then put his arms around her shoulders. "I don't mind."

She leaned against him and smiled back. "Thanks."

"We'll need to take some precautions, though. Maybe a disguise."

"Disguise?"

"Yeah," he said. "Just in case anyone we know recognises her face... your secret might get out, you know?"

"Oh. R-right." She was unnerved. "I d-didn't even think about that... Any ideas?"

"Well, it's an anime convention, right?" Naegi grinned. "We can have her cosplay as someone who looks nothing like you."

*

"Syo."

"Yes...?" She trilled playfully at him.

"I thought we agreed that you should cosplay as someone who looks nothing like you."

Syo had done the complete opposite of that. Naegi wasn't sure who she was supposed to be cosplaying, but all she did was change her hairstyle somewhat, replace her glasses with green contacts and put on some sort of school uniform.

And she had her scissors out. Many of them. Proudly displayed on pouches slung around her waist. It was making him very nervous.

"Oh relax, Macoco! No one's gonna recognise me." She waved her hand dismissively.

"Yes, they are!!" He said, exasperated. "You hardly look any different from before! Who are you supposed to be anyway?"

She let out an offended gasp. "You don't _know_? I'm [Otoya Takechi](https://www.google.com.sg/search?q=otoya+takechi&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwirp4yno8zTAhVF2xoKHeABBTwQ_AUICigB&biw=703&bih=600)! From Akuma no Riddle? My poor, misunderstood angel..." She started hugging herself, a disturbingly lewd smile on her lips. "Thrust into the world of assassins, cursed with an insatiable desire to kill, and every bit as beautiful as I am... It's like her character was just _made_ for me! Kyah, I want Serial Killer insurance, too! Nyahhahahaha!!"

Naegi just stared. He had no idea what she was talking about, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"Besides, I've been in the business for a long time. Don't you think I'd know how to keep a low profile? Trust me, Mahkyutie, no one's gonna know."

He sighed. "Fine, if you say so." He didn't believe her in the slightest – he had been expecting her to don something far more elaborate and transformative – but honestly, he'd rather not argue with her anymore. Talking to her could be... frustrating. It was a bit of a risk, leaving things as they were, but truth be told, he didn't think it was _that_ likely that they'd bump into anyone they knew here anyway. _Comiket_ was a big event, with thousands of others attending. What were the odds of meeting an acquaintance in this mob? His good luck ought to count for something.

They began making their way to the main convention hall. _Might as well enjoy my time here,_ he thought. Fukawa might have disdained anime and everything related to it, but Naegi himself had always liked it. He had only been to _Comiket_ once before with his sister Komaru, many years ago, just for the first day. He would have come back, except life kept getting in the way.

 _Well, now you get to come back twice a year,_ he thought. _With Syo._

Attending a convention with a former serial killer. Who he was kinda sorta in a relationship with. Somehow, he didn't find the idea as objectionable as he thought he would. Without thinking too much about it, he reached out and held Syo's hand as they walked.

"Oh?" She turned to him, pleasantly surprised. "This is new."

"Yeah, well," his cheeks grew a light pink. "We're technically dating, right? Objectively speaking, you're still a part of my girlfriend."

She giggled and suddenly wrapped her arm around his bicep, startling him a little. For several moments, he wasn't sure how to respond.

"Syo..." he said.

"We share feelings, remember?" She said, sounding unusually lovey-dovey. "Me and Little Miss Gloomy, that is." In her usual carefree tone: "So, what do you have to say about all this?"

" _NatsuComi_?" He looked around him, taking in the dozens upon dozens of cosplayers, and the sheer size of the convention building. "I think it's great, honestly!" Already, he had seen some characters he recognised. Maka Albarn, Kamina and Yoko, Eren Yeager... "There's so much to see and-"

"No no no, not that!" She cut him off, amused. "I meant about us! You, me and your Emo girlfriend! This love triangle, this _Ménage à Trois_! Ohohoho," she started hugging herself again, "dating two girls at once! And here I thought _I_ was bad. Ma-kun, you naughty boy!"

He breathed out through his teeth. Silly him, he actually thought they were having a _moment_.

Around them, people were starting to stare. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say anything." He tried to change the subject immediately. "How'd you get that costume done so quickly anyway? Doesn't it take most people at least two weeks to have everything ready?" Naegi himself wasn't able to do much on his end; with only a few days to prep, all he could  put together for a costume was a red hoodie and a child's _Kamen Rider_ mask.

Which made him feel pretty lame, he had to admit, but at least it got the job of hiding his identity done.

She shrugged. "I bought it a couple of months ago. Was planning to come here, whether Gloomy would let me or not. Shit's pretty expensive, but hey," she ran her fingers through her hair, "take one good look at me and tell me it isn't worth it, eh?" She grinned and winked at him.

"Expensive? Didn't you _steal_ the money for that from Touko?"

Her mouth dropped open. "I didn't steal it!"

He raised an eyebrow. And though she couldn't see it through the mask he wore, she got the message.

"Whatever! It's not stealing if you both share the same body."

A short laugh escaped him, mainly because he didn't know how else to react. "What the hell kind of logic is that?"

"It's called sharing! We're already sharing a body, and we're already sharing you! What's the harm of sharing some other things too?"

He didn't say anything. _Don't bother arguing, Makoto,_ he told himself, _you're never going to talk sense to her._

They managed to beat the long queue to enter Comiket by arriving a bit later than most everyone else. Syo had protested wildly against this decision, ("all of the good stuff would be sold out by then!") but she relented when Naegi pointed out that standing in line under the punishing summer sun was a good way to take the fun right out of anything. The second they stepped into the convention hall, she began taking longer strides and running her tongue over her lips. Predictably, she was leading them right towards the Adult Doujin booths. She took in a deep whiff of cool, conditioned air.

"Aaahhhh, _ambrosia_!" She shivered, barely able to contain her excitement. "Can you smell it, Ma-kun?"

"Smell?" He sniffed around him. "I don't smell anything."

"No..." she intoned dramatically. "Not with your nose, young grasshopper. With your _heart_... Can't you tell? It's the smell... of _adventure!!_ Haha!"

"If you say so."

She tutted. "Party pooper. No wonder Miss Gloomy likes you so much; you're as boring as she is!"

No response. Naegi didn't want to dignify the jab, especially since it was also aimed at Fukawa.

"Just remember to behave yourself," was all he cared to say. "That was what we agreed on."

"Ooh, aren't we snippy! Did I strike a nerve?"

"Syo." He shot her a look. He was starting to lose his patience.

"Hmph! Well, if you're going to be that way, I might as well enjoy the festivities by myself!"

 With that, she dashed off into the crowd, apropos of nothing and with shocking speed. It took Naegi several seconds to even process what just happened.

"Wah! Syo, wait!" He chased after her.

*

Having a known murderer disappear from sight and into a mass of potential victims was bad for obvious reasons, even if said murderer had sworn off of killing people. If Naegi was being truthful, he didn't yet fully believe it was safe to trust Syo's word. Especially when she had so many pairs of her scissors on her. Who knows what she would get up to while he wasn't watching?

 _Damn it, Makoto, you had one job,_ he cursed himself. _How did you manage to screw_ that _up?_

After combing through the sea of unfamiliar faces for at least ten minutes, he did manage to find his girlfriend at one of the booths. He nearly had a panic attack the moment he saw who was manning it. Surrounded by mountainous piles of _Heretical_ ☆ _Angel Super Squishy Princess_ doujins, with the aura of a grand and magnanimous king, was their old classmate Hifumi Yamada.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please!" he was saying, to the impressively large mob of customers at his booth clamouring for his attention. "Calm down! There's plenty of Byuuko to go around! No shoving!"

Syo was standing by the side of the booth, thumbing through the pages of one of his creations. Her expression quickly became one of displeasure and she threw it back at Yamada.

"Hetero Lolicon trash!!" She yelled. "I thought you were a _connoisseur_!"

"Oho!" Yamada didn't seem the least bit insulted by her actions. He readjusted his glasses. "I see we have a young lady of particular taste! Fret not, Fujoshi-dono, I do believe I have something more suited for you." He reached under the booth and pulled out another doujinshi, handing it to Syo. Astoundingly, he didn't seem to recognise who she was, much to Naegi's relief.

She scanned through the book with scepticism at first, then her eyes became starry. She held it close to her chest.

"Forgive my earlier rudeness, kind sir," she said coquettishly, "do you have any more just like this?"

(Naegi, who was observing this exchange from afar, was aghast. He had never seen her act like that before)

Yamada's grin was smug and satisfied. He reached under the booth again, and emerged with a variety of BL doujins. "Take your pick, Fujoshi-dono," he said. She slammed down a 5000 yen note onto his table immediately.

"One copy of each!" She declared shrilly. "Keep the change!"

Syo was giddy with delight when she returned to Naegi's side, hugging her new acquisitions tightly. "Mako-chan, look!" She was practically singing. "Isn't it _wonderful_?" She shoved an open doujinshi into his face. The image made him yelp and blush an even deeper red than when he saw Fukawa's desktop. "It was worth coming here just for these! Gyahahahaha!"

He took a moment to recollect his scattered thoughts. He never knew that Yamada was into this sort of thing.

"Don't run off like that! You had me worried sick!"

"Oh please," she made a flippant gesture. "I'm a grown serial killer! Don't you think I can take care of myself?"

"That's not the point! You were supposed to be careful! What if Yamada had recognised you??"

She made a raspberry. "I don't a babysitter!" And took off again.

"Ah! No, come back!" But she was already gone, bending into the crowd once more.

Naegi let out a heavy sigh. This was going to be a very long day.

*

If Syo could describe the experience of coming to Comiket, she would have likened it to being a caterpillar emerging from its cocoon as a beautiful butterfly, finally free after months of captivity to spread its wings across the endless azure and see the world. Sure, she couldn't kill anymore – what with that promise she made and everything – but freedom was freedom. Mako-chii was such a sweet boy, but she couldn't allow him to spoil her fun with his bad vibes and slow her down. Not when there was so much to see! So much to buy and consume!

She spied another booth that looked promising. And another. And another. She'd visit them all, of course, in due time. But she couldn't decide who first.

She settled for the nearest one. Began perusing all they had to offer hungrily. Within a half hour, she had purchased another twenty books of lovely, gratuitous smut. Costly, yes, but she wasn't the one paying for it. Her other half was more than capable of bearing the expense; as part of the deal with Miss Gloomy, a tidy sum was set aside for her to play around with. Besides, she'd have an eternity to fill before _FuyuComi_. She had to make the best of this opportunity.

And God knows she hadn't done a bad job of it so far, oh yes. It hadn't mattered what genre or fandom they were from; as long as they were hot, she bought what she could. Her precious darlings. Mmm-mmm. Cloud X Sephiroth, Rikku X Sora, some ship from another one of those sports animes, she didn't care. She now had two carrier bags worth of doujins, and it was all _delicious_.

Shame there wasn't any guro around here, though. Oh well.

"Maybe I'll make some of my own," she said aloud, and cackled.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the convention hall, Naegi kept up his search. He didn't understand how Syo could be so quick, or how she could so efficiently disappear from view. Twice now, he had spotted her from a distance but lost track of her within the space of a few seconds, while trying to navigate through the crowd. And the one time he did catch up to her, she vanished like before without so much as a warning. This was not how he envisioned spending the day.

He should have been having fun. He should have been taking pictures and trying out fan-made games and buying posters and keychains and figurines. Not dealing with this insanity.

At least he could be sure (somewhat) that Syo hadn't hurt anyone yet. No one was screaming or calling security. So maybe she was keeping her promise and he was just being paranoid. Still, there was another concern; if she bumped into anyone else they knew  ̶  someone much sharper than Yamada-kun, say  ̶  it could mean trouble for-

"Oh my," said a familiar voice. "This is unexpected,"

"It's Naegi-kun." said another.

 _So much for my good luck,_ he cursed inwardly as he turned to face the speakers. He did a double take when he saw who they were.

"...Celes-san? Kirigiri-san?"

Both were dressed in their usual attire, eyeing him curiously, standing arm in arm. That last detail recalled to mind the rumours Naegi heard about the two when they were still in school. He had erroneously dismissed it as just bitter spiteful diatribe from the boys who tried asking them out and failed. _Guess they really were dating..._

"Um... How did you know it was me?"

Celestia rolled her eyes. Her girlfriend crossed her arms.

"You're speaking to the _Queen of Liars_ , Naegi-kun."

"And I work for a detective agency," Kirigiri said. "You're not fooling either of us in that silly getup."

Heat rushed to his face. Now he felt even more lame than before.

"I didn't know you were into conventions," he said, addressing them both.

"Why not?" Celestia smiled. She lifted a paper bag full of soft-pastel coloured garments that bore the words _Angelic Pretty_ in pink cursive letters (The Ariake branch was doing some kind of promotion here, it seemed). "They have such lovely dresses for sale. Exactly my style." Behind her, Kirigiri was smiling at her date affectionately.

"I'm just tagging along," she said.

A plethora of questions formed on the tip of Naegi's tongue, but before he could ask any of them, he spotted a swish of dusky purple hair, from a long way off. That had to be Syo. He needed to get a move on fast.

"Sorry, I'd really love to catch up, but I was here with a friend, and I've lost them."

"Oh? Maybe we could help," Kirigiri offered.

"Um, that's okay!" If they could see through the mask and hoodie, Naegi had doubts that Syo's disguise would have lasted very long under their scrutiny. Best not to get them involved. "Talk to you later, bye guys!"

They watched as he rushed off, awkward and graceless as a bull in a china shop. "A friend, huh." Celes remarked.

Kirigiri cocked her head. "Was he talking about that girl with the scissors?"

"I believe so."

"Any clue who she is?" Kirigiri asked.

She pondered for a moment, then shrugged. "Haven't the foggiest," she said, having already lost interest. "Come on, my dear." She beamed at Kirigiri. "We've got more shopping to do."

Kirigiri chuckled. "Yes, ma'am."

*

"...and that's why I prefer Kanehide," Syo was saying, to a fellow _NatsuComi_ attendee in plain clothes who had asked for a photograph. She took a swig from a bottle of cherry cola, washing the dryness from her tongue.

"Right??" The girl chirruped excitedly. "They went through hell and back for each other! There's no way they're 'just friends'. The haters don't know what they're talking about!"

Three and a half hours had passed since she first stepped into _Comiket_. Running around sampling comics while lugging two heavy bags of booty was hard work, so she was taking a break. The day's events had already taken out quite a bit from her.

"And that damn ending," the girl continued. "I wanted to cry! The anime can't hold a candle to the manga, though. There were so many things they had to cut out."

Syo nodded at all this, taking another pull from her drink. It had been awhile since she had anyone to talk to about her passions. Naegi, sweet boy, would have made a willing enough audience for her discussions, but he wouldn't have been able to relate; he didn't just share her interest.

"Anyway, speaking of anime, have you seen _Owari No Seraph_?"

"I haven't." She leaned forward. In conspiratorial whisper: "But I've heard some  ̶  ah, _interesting_ things about it. Is it any good?"

The girl grinned. "It's the best. The series flagship is to _die_ for. And there's this shota cutie who you could just-"

 "Mariko-chan!" A young man called out to her. "We're going for ice cream! You coming?"

"Ah, that's my cue." She gave Syo an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I've gotta go now. Bye." And made to leave. "Wait for me, please!!"

 _Owari No Seraph, eh?_ She snickered. She was definitely going to check that one out. Downing the rest of her cola in one long, refreshing gulp, Syo hefted her bags and got back to prowling. Those doujins weren't going to buy themselves.

But two things slowed her advance. First, the bags were getting a little too heavy. One of the numerous downsides to sharing a body with Tou-chan was that she was almost criminally unfit; years of sitting on her ass, writing those sappy, stuffy novels had not done her physique any favours.

But second, and most importantly, she was starting to get worried about Mako-chii. It had been quite some time since she last saw him. Where the hell was he? He should have caught up to her by now, yammering on about how _Syo, you can't do this,_ or _Syo, you can't do that._ Did he get lost? Maybe she should slow it down so he could catch up. Enough torturing for the poor boy.

 _Gloomy's gonna be pissed if you let anything happen to him_. Hell, she'd be pissed with _herself_ if she let anything happen to him. Good-natured little shit. Lacking as he was in the looks and the height department, she understood why Tou-chan liked him so much, she really did. Even if she did a lousy job of showing it.

She sighed. "Guess I should go look for him." Her darlings could wait a little while longer. There was always Days Two and Three anyway.

*

"The fuck didn't you watch where you were going, bastard!?"

Naegi's horrendous form of luck had once again landed him into hot soup. Having spotted a glimpse of what might have been his girlfriend in the distance, he had broken into a sprint. A particularly beefy-looking cosplayer with a spiky blue wig and a massive black Styrofoam sword had chosen the wrong moment to set his prop down so he could tie his shoe, inadvertently placing it in the perfect position for Naegi to run into and trip, snapping it in several places.

"Took me three fucking weeks to put this thing together, asshole," the cosplayer was saying. "And I've got a photoshoot tomorrow. The fuck am I supposed to do now?"

Naegi put his hands up defensively. This was bad. Very bad.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, I was just... in a rush..." he pulled out his wallet. "I... I'll pay for it. How much did it cost?"

"Pay for it? Pay for it??" The young man seemed outraged by the very notion. "Goddamn right, you'll pay for it. C'mere." And grabbed him by the collar with one very large hand. Around them, people were watching. No one seemed to want to do anything to help. Naegi was on his own.

This was definitely not how he envisioned spending the day.

He tried to put up a struggle, tried to reason with his aggressor, but that didn't amount to much. Soon, Naegi found himself in an unfamiliar corridor, away from the rest of the convention. Some kind of fire exit perhaps? A hard shove sent him sprawling backwards into a white wall.

"Please, calm down," he managed, weakly. "You don't need to-"

He was cut off by a sudden and powerful uppercut to the belly. The pain drove the wind out of him and brought tears to his eyes. He heard the sound of knuckles cracking.

"That's just the start, asshole."

Naegi hadn't realised he had gone to his knees until he looked up. Another punch dented the cheap, paper-thin plastic of his _Kamen Rider_ mask. "Teach you to ruin my day."

He didn't yet know this – and wouldn't have grasped it until he thought back to this some weeks later – but at that moment, Naegi's own twisted serendipity had landed him right where he needed to be, just as it always did. Unfortunately for him, he'd have to deal with this unpleasantness first. It should have come as no surprise that out of everyone he could have ran into in _NatsuComi_ , it had to be some jumped-up musclehead stereotype with a chip on his shoulder, before things would start working themselves out; he'd been dealing with crap like this since middle school.

 _How'd it come to this?_ He remembered asking himself. How'd go from _spend the day having fun_ to _making sure Syo didn't murder somebody_ to _get beat up in a corridor because of something you didn't mean to-_

"Oi."

That voice. It wasn't from the young man. It was softer. Feminine. And infinitely more terrifying. Through the watery haze of his tears, he could make out another figure, against the backdrop of painted concrete. A wave of fear and dread overtook him when he realised who it was.

"Syo..."

He wasn't afraid for himself. Syo wouldn't have harmed him. This young man, however...

"Mmm, aren't you a cutie." She smiled, and her fingertips danced over the handles of her scissors. "Handsome, hunky... Been awhile since I've done anyone. Now, just what do you think you're doing to _my_ man?"

She was met with a stare. "Who the fuck are you?"

"Syo," Naegi called out from where he knelt. "Don't hurt him, please..."

Horrible images came to him. Blood. Sharpened steel glistening under fluorescent lights. Arms impaled against a wall, next to a message in sticky dripping red.  Whatever this young man did to him, he didn't deserve to end up another scar on Fukawa's thigh.

But Syo gave Naegi a look that was surprisingly tender.

"Don't you worry, Ma-kun," she assured. "I won't hurt him. Much."

Between them, the young man's expression became one of outrage. "You? Hurt _me_?" He took a step towards her. "Is this supposed to be some kind of joke, bitch?"

She licked her lips languorously. "Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this."

*

Raw panic had compelled Naegi to try and stand. The pain in his belly was subsiding, but it was still enough to hinder him considerably. It was a good thing he hadn't had a bite to eat since breakfast; he felt ready to dry heave all over the floor.

 _Gotta stop her_ , he said to himself. But Syo's scissors were already out, tearing through the air with frightening speed. The cosplayer hadn't thought twice about taking a swing at her before she started slashing. There was the sound of ripping fabric and a cry of shock by the time Naegi got to his feet. She must have cut the young man at least a dozen times in the space of those few seconds. He feared the worst; was he going to look up and find another victim of hers?

He did not.

All the same, however, he did regret looking up.

All across the floor were the tattered remains of the young man's clothes. For what must have been the third time this week, Naegi found himself staring at naked, alabaster skin. _Lord have mercy..._ he blushed again. This young man was a lot more well-built than he thought.

Syo's bladework had been precise. Surgical. She hadn't drawn a single drop of blood, yet damage had been done anyway. You could see it on the young man's face.

"Aaahh!?" was all that escaped him. He didn't seem to comprehend how he could have ended up like this.

"Well now!" She giggled. "I guess it really _is_ true, what they say about men with big swords!" She wagged her pinkie at him, then howled with laughter.

The young man let out a shriek and ran straight for a corner, attempting to preserve what remained of his modesty.

"You b-b-bitch!!" He screeched at her, from a huddled position. "I-I'll get e-even for t-this, yo-"

"No," she interrupted, hurling one of her weapons at his direction, where it buried itself into the wall inches from his head. "You won't." He whimpered and fell silent.

"You okay?" She turned her attention to Naegi, sounding genuinely concerned. "Hold still now, let me see." She lifted the _Kamen Rider_ mask gingerly from his face. An enormous goose egg of a bruise was rising majestically from under his right eye. He had his hand over his stomach where the cosplayer had struck him, but he was okay. Mostly. "I... I'm alright," he said. "Just a little shaken up, is all. I-"

She put her arms around him and pulled him close, letting out what might have been a sigh of relief, squeezing him tight. Neither of them said anything for awhile.

"Come on, Makoto," she smiled at him. "Let's get out of here.

*

The rest of _Comiket_ went by that afternoon without a hitch. Syo was back to her usual self once they rejoined the convention.

"But did you see the guns on that fuckboy? Woowie!" She fanned herself with an open hand. "He was hot, hot, _hot_!! I wouldn't mind never killing again if I could do that to some cutie every once in a while! Gyahahahaha!!"

Following close behind her, with one of her carrier bags on his shoulder, Naegi winced. "Please don't. You really shouldn't be doing that to people."

"Yeah, and he shouldn't be beating the crap out of someone for no good goddamn reason," she said offhandedly, unconsciously tightening her grip around his hand. She'd been holding it ever since they walked out of that fire escape.

"Um, about that," Naegi said, with what might have been guilt. "Thank you."

She turned to him and cocked her head. "What for?"

"For not killing that guy," he spoke softly, in case anyone heard. "And for saving me."

"D'aww, you're such a sweetheart! You're welcome!" She coiled her arm around his bicep once more. It made his heart race. "Wouldn't have been a good idea to do him anyway," she continued. "Too many witnesses, hahahaha!"

In all seriousness, Naegi had been wrong not to trust her. And he couldn't be happier to be proven wrong. He owed her an apology.

"I owe you an apology," he said. "I didn't think you'd keep your word. I should have trusted you more. I'm sorry."

"Hmm? Oh. Yeah, sure." She wasn't even paying attention. "I forgive you, I guess." Her focus was more directed towards another booth, this one proudly displaying Daimakuras with some very under-dressed pretty boys. "Hey, Ma-kun, could you lend me some cash? I'm almost out."

Naegi blinked twice, certain he had misheard her. "What? How??" He was incredulous. "Touko gave you like 150 000 yen for the whole three days!" He started rummaging through the bag he carried. "How many of these things did you buy??"

"I don't know, I lost count after... uh, fifty?"

" _Fifty?_ "

"Fifty."

Naegi shook his head in utter disbelief, his earlier guilt already forgotten. "Syo, I think you have a problem."

"Oh, whatever! You gonna lend me the money or not?"

Soon enough, two bags became three. Naegi couldn't remember the last time his wallet felt this light (or his shoulders so heavy). Yet it hadn't been a bad day, even with all the running around, the excessive expenditure and that scuffle in the fire escape. When he was spending time with Syo rather than chasing her around, things were...  pleasant. Much more than he expected. It was actually making him look forward to Days Two and Three.

As long as Syo didn't start speeding off again.

Which he doubted she would, anyway. She was keeping him very close to her now, hovering over him protectively. Even as she sampled more doujins from booth after booth, she kept one eye on him. It stayed that way even as Day One of Comiket drew to a close and the crowds thinned in the convention hall. It stayed that way as they started making their way out of there.

"That bag giving you any trouble?" She asked.

He shook his head, touched by her concern. "No, I'm good."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Then he smiled. "You know, that sounds so strange, coming from you."

"Tch, rude!" She grinned. "Maybe I shouldn't have been bothered after all." But she moved in a little nearer so they were almost shoulder to shoulder, keeping him there beside her for most of the trip home.

She wasn't about to let Mako-pyon out of her sight for a while, oh no.

*

"Ah! Y-Your face! What happened??"

Fukawa's reaction was both expected and immediate; as soon as Syo made herself sneeze and Touko turned her eyes to Naegi, she saw the bruise and the ice pack he was holding up to it.

"H-hey, come on, let me s-see..." She sounded almost exactly like Syo had that afternoon, lifting the pack away and cupping his cheek tenderly. They were far more alike than they knew, Naegi thought, as he spent the next three minutes or so with her fussing over him, in spite of repeated assurances that - Yes, he was fine, and No, it didn't hurt anymore.

"Ngghh!! _She_ did this, didn't she!?" Fukawa hissed, hands bunching into fists. "I knew it! I k-knew we couldn't t-trust that ridiculous harlot! She's gone too f-far this time! Daring to lay a hand on you..." She made as if to wring her fingers into Syo's neck.

"No, no! That's not what happened at all!" He explained the day's events to her, calming her down a little.

"Hmph! Well, you still got hurt b-because of her." She mumbled, folding her arms crossly. "If she had just behaved herself, this would never have happened..."

"You're being too hard on her." He said, patiently. "She _did_ help me out, after all. And she's still keeping her promise about not killing anymore. I think we should cut her some slack."

"F-fine, if you say so." She sounded unconvinced. "But if you get h-hurt again, the deal's off. I don't care w-what she does." Her shoulders slumped as she allowed herself to relax, before they suddenly tensed again when she looked down.

"Ugh, what did she m-make me _wear_? What is all this crap??"

Syo hadn't bothered changing out of her clothes before surrendering control back to Fukawa. As soon as they were done packing her new doujins somewhere inconspicuous, she smiled at Naegi and said "Alright, you can have Tou-chan back now."

"She was supposed to be cosplaying as someone named Otoya... or something," he said, scratching the back of his head. What was it that Syo was going on about again? Akuma no... Rhythm? River?  He already forgot. Oh well. He didn't think Fukawa cared about that in the least.

"Anyway, she told me to tell you that she's going to be wearing that tomorrow, so don't put it in the wash yet," he said, moving to sit on her couch. "Just fold it and leave it somewhere she can see."

"Fine, fine." She made a dismissive gesture. "Honestly. That woman..." One of her hands brushed against the handles of Syo's homemade scissors and recoiled from them as if she had touched something filthy. "This a-arrangement is going to be more trouble than it's worth."

Fatigue was starting to set in for her. She was feeling the full weight of Syo's physical actions for the whole day on her body. Unceremoniously, she collapsed into the couch next to Naegi and lay her head onto his lap, startling him. This was a first.

She didn't object when he placed a hand on her arm. She nuzzled against him and sighed.

"S-so, what else did she say?"

"She's asking for more money," he said, feeling bad for dropping this on her now, when she was so exhausted. "She's already spent what you gave her."

"Geh!" Fukawa went rigid. "O-of _course_ she did." Then relaxed once more. In a softer tone: "A-anything else?"

"No. Not that I remember, anyway."

"And what about you?" She turned to face him, concerned. "There's still two more days of this a-absurdity. Are you going to be okay?"

He considered.

"I'll be fine," he said, after awhile. "She'll make sure of it. I think."

"She damn well better," Fukawa seethed, thinking about her smartphone, the massive dent in her chequebook, and the harm that had already befallen poor Naegi because of Syo. To hell with what he said; as soon as her boyfriend went home and she had taken all this cosplay garbage off of her person, she and that diseased lunatic were going to have a very long talk.

**Author's Note:**

> In order to better understand Syo as a character, I decided to re-read two of my favourite stories involving her as inspiration. These stories are ["Burning Down Love"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/483421) by thereisafire and ["why stand on formalities when we're already so close"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/732346) by suitablyskippy. I highly recommend checking them out. (Fair warning, though; these stories are much darker and more violent. Proceed at your own discretion)  
> Also, I have never been to Comiket in my life. Most of what's described here is based on things I've heard from others. Please pardon any factual inaccuracies.


End file.
